Billy Bob Thornton moves to 'Fargo'

NEAL JUSTIN
|
Updated
8/2/2013

Acclaimed actor rejoins the Coen brothers for TV version of the iconic film.

LOS ANGELES -- Billy Bob Thornton will play the lead character in the TV version of "Fargo." No, he won't be playing Marge.

FX president John Landgraf, who made the announcement Friday morning at the TV Critics press tour, said that none of the characters from the Oscar-winning movie will be reprised, but that the 10-episode limited series will stay "remarkably true to the film ," which Landgraf said is one of his all-time favorites.

The series, which is scheduled to air next year, is self-contained. If there are further episodes, it'll most likely follow the model of "American Horror Story," which reboots each season with new characters and new storylines.

Just how involved are the Minnesota-raised Coen brothers? They didn't pen the original script, but they had a heavy role in the final product.

"After reading the script, they said, we don't know how to do notes," Landgraf said. "Can we rewrite it?"